Forever, My Queen
by DarkLadyNightroad
Summary: A story that takes place prior to Sherlock Holmes meeting John Watson, we take a look at the reason why it seems that Sherlock loves nobody.
1. Prologue

Love is confusing. Sometimes we find love in what's impossible, sometimes we find love in what's bad for us, and sometimes we find love in ourselves alone. But what if you don't understand the concept of love? What if love has always been something you thought was always an illusion created by humans to satisfy their own personal needs?

That is something Sherlock Holmes used to believe when he met her, that one time. Way before we all knew him like we know him today. Before he admitted to being close to those he deep down cares about, before meeting John... before everything.

She was the one… but sadly, she was a little ahead of her time, here in London.


	2. Chapter 1: In Need of A Doctor

It was a typical Monday afternoon for Mr. Sherlock Holmes. He just finished up his work in the lab, trying to work quickly to avoid small talk with the sweet Molly Hooper. It was a rather chilly day, Sherlock noticed while walking through the streets. He kept his gaze low to avoid overanalyzing every single person around him. It's times like these where he sort of wished he had some sort of partner at his side. As antisocial and domineering as he came out to be, he really did have some feelings. But alas, wishing would lead him to no avail.

Or so he thought.

Upon walking up to his home on Montague Street, Sherlock heard a sort of wheezing and groaning sound coming from down the street. His clever mind could not deduce what could possibly make such a noise, so naturally he went to investigate it.

When he arrived to the one location where the noise was loudest, it stopped. In the area, all that stood there was a blue police call box. Sherlock blinked several times to make sure he was seeing correctly. These sorts of call boxes have been outdated for quite a while.

The curious detective walked up to the box for closer inspection, when suddenly, a man opened the door and dashed out of it, nearly running into Sherlock.

The man spoke, somewhat out of breath, "Are you who I think you are? Are you THE Sherlock Holmes? "

Sherlock observed the man quickly before replying, analyzing him from head to toe. He gathered that this man was Scottish, judging by his accent, and probably into the grunge scene. He is also a possible fan of 70's music judging by the brown replica of Janis Joplin's jacket. Obviously this man likes to keep a rather clean appearance, judging by the high maintenance of his blue suit and perfectly ruffled hair, but he is probably a little extravagant, seeing as his shoes, a pair of sandy brown converse, aren't really appropriate for such an outfit. Looking up at his face, Sherlock knew something was strange. He figured this man was in trouble with someone, possibly the law, but there was something very peculiar.

The pulse, slightly visible on his neck, was completely unbalanced. In fact, the only way to have a pulse beating in such a manner would be to have two hearts, which was a humanly impossible.

Sherlock smiled gently, obviously faking, "Um, yes. I'm Sherlock Holmes. D-do I know you?"

The man smiled, "Probably not. I'm The Doctor, and you're just the man I wanted to see, Mr. Holmes."

He looked puzzled, "Doctor who? And why me?"

The Doctor giggled under his breath, "No, just the Doctor. And I came here to ask a favor of you."

"What sort of favor?"

The Doctor grinned brightly, "How about we go inside. We can talk about everything."


	3. Chapter 2: Utter Royalty

Sherlock went on ahead into the kitchen area to serve up some tea while The Doctor followed closely behind. He said he left something inside the police box, which, Sherlock noted, was called the TARDIS. While setting up the teapot and some teacups, The Doctor entered the small apartment with what seemed to be a person wrapped up in a blanket. Judging by the stature and the small feet, Sherlock predicted that it was a young woman.

The Doctor exhaled a soft breath, "Now, Mr. Holmes, I want you to take note. I am not like other people. In fact, I am not people. I am from an alien race known as the time lords, and I hail from the planet of Gallifrey."

Sherlock held his hand up in disbelief, "Stop. An alien? That's impossible."

The Doctor shook his head, "You know it's not. You know it explains the observation you made not too long ago. The observation where you deduced that I had two heart."

The detective was amazed at how this man knew about his observations, "Okay then, you are correct. But why come to me? Why tell me such sensitive information?"

The Doctor placed his hand up the figure that stood beside him, "Because of her."

The time lord pulled away the blanket to reveal a magnificent looking young girl, roughly 24 years of age. She dressed in clothes that were probably borrowed from someone else, seeing as they didn't fit her very thin figure. Heavy black liner circled her eyes, with a "tail" drawn to touch slightly against her hairline. By her complexion, she was most likely Greek. Her slightly varied skin tones expressed that she spent a lot of time under the sun.

Sherlock kept his gaze on the girl as he spoke, "And she is?"

Just as the Doctor was about to speak, the girl's greenish-blue eyes met with Sherlock's similarly colored eyes. She spoke in a dominant yet timid tone, "I am Queen Cleopatra VII Philopator. Current reigning pharaoh of Egypt."

The detective turned to The Doctor, "Cleopatra? Is this a joke?"

The Doctor shook his head, "No. It is no joke. She is the actual Cleopatra from Ancient Egypt."

"Then how could she possibly be here right now?"

The Doctor sighed, "You see, as a time lord, I can travel through time in my 'ship', the TARDIS. I went back in time to visit her, but realized that the stress of being a ruler was wearing her out, so I thought she might want to travel with me for a bit. However, an emergency arose and for some reason, you were the first I could think of who could take care of her."

"And what makes you think I can?"

"Don't worry, I just know you can."

Sherlock glared into the eyes of the slightly taller man for a moment, then looked over to Cleopatra. She seemed scared, deep down. Probably at how unfamiliar everything around her must seem. The detective took a deep breath and gave in.

"Okay, I'll help you. But for how long?"

The Doctor shrugged, "Time is tricky. I may be back in seven minutes; I may be back in seven years. I can't guarantee anything."

Sherlock was going to protest about the uncertainty, but gave up the fight. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad having her around. She wasn't too young, so nobody would get mixed signals, and maybe teaching her the scopes of modern day society would be an interesting feat.

"Very well then, Doctor. I suppose you should go tend to your issues."

The Doctor nodded, happily, "Thank you very much, Mr. Holmes. I truly appreciate it. And also, I had someone insure that she learn a tenth language."

"Tenth language?"

"Yes. She can speak Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Roman, Syrian, Troglodyte, and Egyptian. I made sure she could learn English for your convenience."

"I see. Okay then. Pleasure to be of help, Doctor."

"The pleasure is all mine."

The Doctor bid farewell to Cleopatra and Sherlock right before escaping away in the TARDIS. Sherlock let loose one last deep breath before turning to Cleopatra, who was silently gazing at him in wonder,

"So, Miss Cleopatra, are you hungry?"


	4. Chapter 3: A Brief History

Sherlock decided to take the lovely Queen Cleopatra to the little deli just around the corner on Baker Street. Instead of a blanket, she wore one of Sherlock's spare jackets, which was a light brown instead of black. As they entered the shop, Sherlock ran into an old friend of his.

"Sherlock! So good to see you." It was the lovely Ms. Hudson.

The detective pulled her in for a gentle embrace, "Ah, Ms. Hudson, how are you?"

"Quite alright. How about you?"

"Fine. Just bringing my friend here so she can get a bite to eat."

Ms. Hudson looked over to Cleopatra and smiled, "Well hello there dear, I am Ms. Hudson, an old friend of Sherlock's. You are?"

Cleopatra looked up to Sherlock, confused about how much she should say.

"Her name is Cleopatra. You know, like the one from Egypt."

Ms. Hudson smiled, "Oh, what a lovely name. Quite fitting for such a lovely girl. Listen, I have to go run some errands, but Sherlock remember, the extra apartment here on Baker Street is still available if you need it. I still owe it to you."

Sherlock nodded as a goodbye, "Very well Ms. Hudson. I'll see what I can do. Pleasure seeing you here."

"Yes, it was lovely. Take care my dear boy."

"Will do."

As Ms. Hudson left, Sherlock and Cleopatra took the opportunity to sit on the vacant bar stools. Cleopatra looked at the menu, but really didn't know what to order, so she turned to Sherlock for his assistance. He gave her a rather sweet smile.

After some contemplation, Sherlock ordered BLT sandwiches and Earl Grey Tea for the two of them. She ate it and found the odd and new taste to be rather exquisite. Never had she eaten something so different and delicious. Sherlock laughed lightly at her fascination for something as common as a sandwich.

She took a hold of the tea and began sipping on it, trying to adjust to the rather strong and unique taste of it. It was still pretty hot, so she thought it would be a good idea to start up a small conversation.

"So, Sherlock, where exactly am I? It is all so different from the lands in Egypt, Rome, or Greece."

Sherlock smiled, trying to puzzle his words correctly while sipping the hot tea, "Well, you are in England. The city of London to be exact."

"I see… I do not believe I've ever been here before. So, how long has it been since my reign?"

"More than 2000 years."

Cleopatra was taken by surprise. It surely has been a really long time, "Oh, I see. Then, I must certainly be—" She frowned for a split second before turning around to hear the loud siren of a police car.

Sherlock looked out the window, only to notice Lestrade exiting the car. The detective sighed. It was the first time he was disappointed in seeing that there was a case he had to work on. He was actually enjoying the conversation.

"We have to go, Cleopatra." Sherlock wore a blank expression, putting on his jacket and scarf.

"Is there a problem?" Something deep down told Cleopatra that it was better off avoiding where the conversation was going for now.

"There could be." Sherlock paid the bill, and then led Cleopatra outside, "You see, I'm a consulting detective. If the police, the people who protect the city from crime, come to me, I help them find out who it is that committed the crimes."

"So you don't work with them?"

"In a way yes, but only if they ask me to. Technically, it is not my job."

"Oh, I see. Are you any good?"

Sherlock smiled, but before he could reply, Lestrade interrupted, "Sherlock, just the man I wanted to see. There's been a break-in and I need your help. Hopefully, I'm not intruding."

Sherlock noticed that Lestrade was referring to Cleopatra and quickly intervened to rid him of any assumptions, "No. I'm completely free."

"Great then. Let's go."

As Lestrade returned to his car, Sherlock leaned over to whisper in Cleopatra's ear, "Do you mind joining me or would you feel more comfortable staying in my flat while I finish up this case?"

The queen shrugged, "I suppose I could accompany you. All of this seems to be quite intriguing and unusual."

The detective smiled, taking a hold of her hand and calling up a cab, "Good to hear. Come along now."

With those last words, Cleopatra smiled to herself. Even though she was scared, she felt this surge of utter happiness. She knew, deep down, that she was in for the adventure of her life.


	5. Chapter 4: An Interesting Change

Cleopatra tossed and turned in the bed. The sunlight was hitting her eyes so sleeping was near impossible. She sat up stretching and yawning. A strange smell was coming from outside the room, so she put herself together and headed out, only to see Sherlock sitting down, while reading a strange book and eating something that was unknown to her. She yawned again, which surprise the detective. He put down the book, looked up at her, and smiled.

"Well, good morning. How was the rest?"

"It was different. Much more comfortable than where I traditionally rest. What about you?"

"Me? Oh, I didn't sleep. Picked up this book and am almost through already. Decided I needed a book to rid myself of boredom. The case we were on yesterday was pure rubbish. It was so obvious, I could have solved it just by looking at a picture of the crime scene."

Cleopatra looked confused, "Well, I found it all very interesting. But then again, I am new to this sort of thing."

"Exactly. Maybe I could teach you a little bit about my world? If it would interest you, that is."

"I shall consider your offer."

"Well, start thinking. Until then, have a seat. I stepped out about an hour ago to get us something to eat on this fine morning. The sun is out, which is rather rare here in London. It is still chilly, but better than most days."

Cleopatra sat down across from him and observed the strange food. She decided not to ask what it was. Her stomach couldn't bear the thought of being empty at this hour. As she ate, she found that the flavor worked well with her taste buds, so she did not care too much about what it was anymore. It was sweet and quite filling.

Sherlock nearly made her jump with a sudden exclamation, "Oh dear, mind my manners. Would you like something to drink?"

The girl cleared her throat of food, "Oh, yes."

"Orange juice or tea?"

"Orange juice, please."

Sherlock laughed. In his eyes, she seemed like a little girl learning how to put her first sentences together. It was rather heart warming. He walked over to the refrigerator and served up her glass of juice. Upon returning, he smiled to her mysteriously.

She gave him a questioning look, "Is something the matter?"

"Not at all. But it seems that the Doctor didn't give you much to work with. How about we go out to the shops and get you some more wardrobe options. You are much too thin for my clothes and I know you, being pure royalty, would not like to wear the same outfit for who knows how long."

Cleopatra looked down at her clothes, "You have got a very good point. I would love to go out. I do hope it is of no inconvenience."

"None at all. I think you might like to get a better glimpse of London."

Cleopatra nearly chugged down the entire glass and walked over to grab the jacket that Sherlock had let her borrow the previous day, "Let us go then! We must not waste time."

Sherlock and Cleopatra walked through the crowded streets of London. While he was being his rather reserved self, he smiled at how Cleopatra was so amused by the extravagant thing that was modern day life. It was so fascinating to her.

"So, Sherlock Holmes, do you take your woman out to observe this beautiful civilization?"

A rather embarrassed smile crossed his lips, "Well, I've never had a woman in my life… So, you'd be the first."

"Have you not been appointed a wife? Do you not have a sister or the like?"

Sherlock shook his head, "Times have changed, dear queen. It is not advised to marry your sibling. Moreover, nobody is appointed a partner. You choose for yourself. If you love someone, you try and see if the relationship can work out. If it doesn't, you go ahead and try again."

Cleopatra stopped and looked down in thought, "I see. You are correct. Times have changed."

The two continued around the town rather silently, with Sherlock only speaking when Cleopatra asked about something that interested her. After a couple minutes, Sherlock stopped in front of a large building.

"So, Ms. Cleopatra, I bring you somewhere that is comparable to the marketplace of your time. However, I know you will find it much more intriguing than that."

The young queen gazed at the building, "And what do you call this magnificent palace?"

The detective smiled lightly, "No, not palace. I'll take you to the palace later. This place is called a shopping centre." He took a hold of her hand and began to practically drag her, "You'll love it. Come on."


End file.
